F-16 Fighting Falcon News

July 25, 2006 (by Mike Kopack) - An F-16CJ pilot ejected from his aircraft over the Atlantic Ocean Apr. 5, 2006 after experiencing a Gravity-Induced Loss of Consciousness and awaking to find his aircraft in an unrecoverable dive, according to an Air Combat Command report released two weeks ago.
The pilot suffered serious injuries during the high-speed ejection, which took place while the aircraft was traveling in excess of 750 miles per hour. The aircraft (#93-0542), assigned to the 20th Fighter Wing, Shaw AFB, S.C., crashed into the ocean approximately 80 miles northeast of Charleston, S.C., and was destroyed. The cost of the aircraft loss is estimated at nearly $23 million.

At the time of the incident the pilot was performing a high-gravity maneuver during a Basic Fighter Maneuver training mission. The investigating officer concluded there was substantial evidence that physical fatigue from flying five high-G sorties in three days, an extended layoff from flying and the mental stress associated with his instructor pilot upgrade training were contributing factors to the pilot's loss of consciousness.